4 Face Aggravated Battery On Law Enforcement Officer Charges After Wynwood Fight
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - CBS4 has learned that officers had to break up an altercation involving multiple people based on video surveillance footage from an establishment in Wynwood, and it resulted in numerous arrests.
Tonight, CBS4 looks at the footage and how officers approached the use of force in this situation.
Shortly before 3 a.m. on Friday, a fight broke out.
The video surveillance timestamp indicates officers were on the scene in less than 40 seconds.
"If those officers weren't there, that person at the bottom of the dog pile could be seriously injured or dead," said the president of Miami's FOP Union Tommy Reyes.
He points to a civilian being attacked by multiple people.
Reyes shares his perspective of what officers did next.
"They didn't necessarily jump in," added Reyes. "What they did is try to pull people off this dog pile."
He says officers positioned nearby an establishment couldn't call for backup because other police units were busy. And then...
"When he (officer) gets pushed the first time, he loses the radio," explained Reyes. "It falls off his belt."
The video provided to CBS4 then skips ahead 15 seconds to officers engaged in a fight.
"They didn't have an opportunity to take out their Taser or pepper spray," said Reyes.
"When someone takes a fighting stance and throws punches at you, you're more than free to punch back," said Reyes.
"We're cops. Not punching bags."
Less than two minutes after the fight broke out, an officer was nearly punched trying to break up another fight.
"Clear in the video, an officer is leaning over three of four guys, and another guy comes in and sucker punches them," said Reyes.
We asked how often officers train to use fists in combat.
"Starting to incorporate more things and grappling was not so much in training before," added Reyes.
At this time, we have limited details on the circumstances surrounding the early morning fight in Wynwood.
On Friday afternoon, police public information officer Kenia Fallat said, "Each of the four subjects were charged with one count of aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer."
"Pursuant to its internal investigation protocols, the Miami Police Department is actively reviewing all video and testimonial evidence related to the use of force and will take appropriate action if any violations are identified," she added.